Vehicle-truck.



E. G. SGHREIBER.

VEHICLE TRUCK.

APPLICATION Hum NOV. 1, 1011.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-4511111 1.

E. G. SGHREIBER.

VEHICLE TRUCK.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 1, 1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-MEET 2.

j/we/zl n M UNTED SATS PATENT OFFTC.

ERNST G. SCI-IREIBER, OF HAMMOND, INDIANA.

VEHICLE-TRUCK.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERNST G. SUIIREIBER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Hammond, in the county of Lakeand State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Vehicle-Trucks, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to supporting trucks for vehicles and moreparticularly to a truck embodying angular-1y adjustable wheels which isparticularly designed for use upon hillside plows and other agriculturalmachines.

The invention has for its primary object the provision of simple,durable and efficient means for simultaneously adjusting the truckwheels and positioning the same with relation to the longitudinal axisof the machine, at the same angle, whereby a close or short turn of plowor other earth working machine may be made when the end of the furrow isreached.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means forangularly adjusting the truck wheels of road graders, plows and similarmachines whereby the width of the furrow cut by the plow blades may bevaried, and to prevent side draft or trans verse bodily movement of themachine which is induced by the plows or other earth moving elements.

Another object resides in the provision of a pair of truck wheels havingstub axles fulcrumed intermediate of their ends for universal movement,and manually operable means connected to the inner ends of said axles tosimultaneously position the same in parallel angular planes on oppositesides of the machine with relation to the longitudinal axis thereof.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the abovecharacter which consists of comparatively few elements which are ofsimple form and may therefore be produced at small cost and whichrequires but a minimum expenditure of manual energy in its operation.

With the above and other. objects in view, the invention consists of thenovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my im-Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 1, 1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Serial No. 657,963.

proved supporting truck showing the same arranged beneath a plow beam;Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3is a side elevation illustrating a slightly modified form of theinvention; Fig. 4 is an end view partly in section; and Fig. 5 is a topplan view with certain of the parts removed and the bearings or supportsfor the wheel axle shown in section.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated two of the many forms ofagricultural machines to which my invention is applicable but it will beunderstood that the following description of the arrangement of thevarious elements is in no wise restricted to the particular applicationsthereof as shown in the drawings but that the principle involved may beutilized with only slight rearrangements of the parts such as theexigencies of the particular case may require.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, 5 designates the beam ofa plow to which is secured the depending truck frame 6, said frameincluding the longitudinally disposed channel bar .7 which embraces theplow beam and is secured thereto by means of the attaching bolts 8. Thetransversely extending diverging depending arms 9 are integrally formedupon the channel bar 7 adjacent one of its ends and are braced by meansof the inclined bars 10 which are integrally formed with the lower endsof the arms 9 and with the channel bar 7 adjacent to its other end. Thelower ends of the downwardly inclined arms 9 are vertically disposed andprovided with halfbearings having concave seats 12 formed in their outerfaces. The cap plate or removable half of the bearing indicated at 13 issecured to the arm by means of the bolts 14: and is provided with'theconcave bearing seat 15 which co-acts with the bearing face 12 upon theend of the arm to movably support the wheel axle 16. This axle isprovided with a spherical bearing portion 17 intermediate of its endswhich is fulcrumed upon the lower ends of the supporting arms 9 in themanner above described. Upon the outer ends of the stub axles 16 thetruck wheels 18 are secured in any approved manner and upon the innerends of said axlesthe anti-friction rollers 19 are arranged for movementin the slots 21 of the guide plates 20. As will be noted from referenceto Fig. 1 these guide plates are concavo-convex in form and are curvedin concentric relation to the axle bearing 17. These plates areadjustably supported upon the brackets 22 which are rigidly fixed to theframe arms 9, said brackets being provided upon their lower ends withthe cylindrical bosses 23. The inner faces of these bosses are notchedor serrated as shown at 24 for engagement by the similarly serrated face25 upon the edge of the guide member 20. A curved slot 26 extends inconcentric relation to this serrated face of the guide member andreceives the end of a stud bolt 27 which is fixed in the bosses 23 onthe brackets 22 and is threaded to receive the clamping nut 28 wherebythe guide member may be clamped in its adjusted position and the slot 21therein disposed at any desired angle with relation to the longitudinalaxis of the machine whereby the throw or extent of adjustment of thetruck wheels may be regulated as desired.

The brace bars 10 of the truck frame are connected at a pointintermediate of their ends by the transverse channel bar 29 and upon theupper face of this channel bar a segmental gear 30 is rotatably mountedupon the stud 31. This gear is connected upon opposite sides of thesupporting stud to the inner ends of the truck axles by means of thelink rods 30. The under surface of the channel bar 7 of the truck framehas formed thereon the forwardly extending bearing sleeve 32 the bore ofwhich coincides with the inclined opening 33 in the plow beam 5. A shaft34 is disposed through this hearing sleeve and the opening in the beamand at its upper end is journaled in a bearing 35 which is formed uponthe support 36 which in turn is integrally formed upon the longitudinalflanges of the channel 7 This support includes the vertically disposedarms 37 upon the upper ends of which the bearings 38 are formed toreceive the journals of a worm 39. To one end of this worm a hand wheel40 is rigidly attached, and said worm meshes with the teeth of a wormgear 41 fixed upon the upper end of the inclined shaft 34. The lower endof this shaft is journaled in a suitable bearing 42 fixed to the channelbar 29 and has secured thereon a pinion 43 to mesh with the teeth of thesegmental gear 30.

The operation of the above described mechanism is substantiallyasfollows. When the machine moves upon a hill or other elevation of thegrade surface, the operator turns the hand wheel 40 in the properdirec-- tion to angularly dispose the truck wheels 18 as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1. This angular disposition of the wheels is effectedthrough the rotation of the shaft 34 which, through the pinion 43rotates the segmental gear 30 and moves the links 30 which are connectedto the inner ends of the truck axles 16. It will thus be seen that theinner ends of the axles are moved in opposite directions to the slots 21of the guide members 20 and the outer end of one axle is moved forwardlyand upwardly while the outer end of the other axle is moved outwardlyand rearwardly, thereby disposing the wheels in parallel angular planeswith relation to the longitudinal axis of the machine.

In Figs. 3 to 5 inclusive I have illustrated the manner in which thetruck wheels and operating mechanism therefor are mounted when appliedto harvesters, potato diggers and similar agricultural machines. In saidfigures 44 designates the main frame of the machine upon which ismounted a transverse frame 45 on the ends of which the bearings 46 arearranged. In these bearings the ends of the worm shaft 47 are mountedand the worm 39 thereof meshes with the worm wheel 41' upon the lowerend of the shaft 34 which is journaled upon the end of the transverseframe 45. The truck wheel axle 16' is journaled for universal movementat its inner end in the bearing 11 which is secured to the verticalchannel bar 48 which forms one element of the frame structure 44. Thetruck wheel 18 is arranged cn said shaft outside of the machine frameand the horizontal transversely disposed portion of a channel bar 49extends over said truck wheel and has its inner end secured to the upperend of the vertical channel bar 48. A brace bar 50 further serves torigidly support the channel bar 49. The outer end of the bar 49 isvertically disposed and upon its lower end is provided with the curvedguide member 20 which is of similar form and construction to thatdescribed in connection with the preferred form of the invention. Thevertical portion of the channel bar 49 is provided with a lateralextension 51 in the end of which an angularly extending groove orchannel 52 is formed. This channel receives the movable rack 53 which isprovided upon one end of a rod 54 the other end of which is connected tothe outer end of the truck axle 16. Suitable bearings 55 are formed uponthe lateral extension 51 of the bar 49 in which the upper end of theinclined shaft 34 is mounted. Upon this shaft the pinion 434 is fixed tomesh with the teeth of the rack 53 and reciprocate the same in thechannel 52. The operation of this form of the invention is practicallythe same as in the preferred form, the rotation of the worm shaft 47 bymeans of the hand wheel 40 on the inner end thereof transmittingmovement to the rod 54 through the medium of the intermeshing rack andpinion 53 and 43 whereby the truck axle is oscillated in its bearing toposition the truck wheel at the desired angle.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation ofmy improved vehicle supporting truck will be fully understood. Thedevice is positive in its action and requires but little manual laborfor its operation. Owing to the few parts employed in the constructionit will further be seen that the mechanism is extremely strong anddurable in practical use.

While I have shown and described the preferred construction andarrangement of the various parts, it will be understood that the deviceis susceptible of a great many minor modifications without departingfrom the essential feature or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is 2- 1. In asupporting truck for vehicles, an axle fulcrumed for universal movement,a carrying Wheel mounted upon said axle, means connected to one end ofsaid axle to move the same in a vertical plane and dispose the Wheel atan angle with relation to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, andmeans with Which said axle co-acts in its vertical movement to effect apositive movement thereof in a longitudinal plane with relation to thevehicle.

2. In a supporting truck for vehicles, an axle fulcrumed intermediate ofits ends for universal movement, a carrying wheel mounted on one end ofthe axle, manually operable means connected to the other end of saidaxle to move the same in a vertical plane, means with which the latterend of the axle co-acts to positively move the axle in a longitudinalplane with relation to the vehicle during the vertical movement thereof,and means for adjusting said last named means to simultaneously vary theextent of vertical and longitudinal movement of the axle and in inverserelation.

3. A supporting truck for vehicles comprising truck wheels arranged onopposite sides of the vehicle and each having an axle fulerumedintermediate of its ends for universal bodily movement, in combinationwith manually operable means for simultaneously moving the truck wheelsto angularly position the same with relation to the longitudinal andtransverse axes of the vehicle, and means for regulating the extent ofsuch movement.

4. In a supporting truck for vehicles, opposed truck axles mounted foruniversal movement, carrying wheels mounted upon said axles, a powertransmittin shaft, means connecting the adjacent ends of said axle tosaid shaft to move the axles in opposite vertical directions when theshaft is rotated, a' guide member with which each of said axles co-actsin its vertical movement, said guide members positively moving the axlesin a longitudinal plane with relation to the vehicle, and means forindependently adjusting said guide members to vary the extent oflongitudinal movement of one of the axles with relation to the other.

5. A supporting truck for vehicles comprising truck wheels mounted uponopposite sides of the vehicle and each having an inwardly extending axlejournaled intermediate of its ends for universal movement, incombination with means connected to the inner ends of the axles tosimultaneously move the same in opposite directions whereby the wheelsare angularly disposed with relation to the transverse axis of thevehicle, and means with which the inner ends of said axles co-act toeffect a longitudinal movement of the same whereby the wheels are alsoangularly disposed with relation to the longitudinal axis of thevehicle.

Q. A supporting truck for vehicles comprising wheels arranged uponopposite sides of the vehicle each having inwardly extending axlesfulcrumed intermediate of their ends for universal movement, incombination with manually operable means connected to the inner ends ofthe axles to simultaneously move the same in opposite directions wherebythe truck wheels are angularly disposed with relation to the transverseaxis of the vehicle, and adjustable slotted guide members with which theinner ends of said axles eo-act to cause a longitudinal movement of theinner ends of the axles in opposite directions whereby the wheels aredisposed in different transverse planes and at an angle with relation tothe longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

7. A supporting truck for vehicles comprising wheels arranged onopposite sides of the vehicle each having an axle fulcrumed foruniversal movement, in combination with manually operable meansconnected to said axles to simultaneously move the same in oppositedirections, and means coacting with said axles to cause theirlongitudinal movement whereby the truck wheels are disposed in differenttransverse planes and in parallel angular planes with relation to thelongitudinal axis of the vehicle.

8. A supporting truck for vehicles comprising wheels arranged onopposite sides of the vehicle and each having an axle fulcrumed foruniversal movement, in combination with manually operable meansconnected to said axles to simultaneously move the same, guide memberseach having a longitudinal slot through which one of the axles projects,said guide members causing the longitudinal movement of the axles todispose the Wheels carried thereby in different transverse planes, andmeans for adjusting the guide members to vary the extent of suchmovement.

9. In a supporting truck for vehicles, an axle journaled for universalmovement, a carrying wheel mounted on said axle, manu- &

ally operable means for moving said axle in a vertical plane, toangularly dispose the Wheel with relation to the transverse axis of thevehicle, and a slotted guide member with which said axle co-acts in itsvertical movement to positively move the axle in a longitudinal planewith relation to the vehicle and simultaneously dispose the carryingwheel at an angle with relation to the longitudinal axis thereof.

10. In a supporting truck for vehicles, an axle journaled intermediateof its ends for universal movement, a carrying wheel mounted on one endof the axle, manually operable means connected to the other end of theaxle to move the same in a vertical plane, a guide member provided withan elongated slot in which the other end of the axle is movablydisposed, said axle co-acting with the guide member to move the axle ina longitudinal plane with relation to the ve hicle during its verticalmovement, and means for adjusting said guide member to vary thedisposition of the slot therein with relation to the transverse axis ofthe axle whereby the extent of longitudinal and vertical movement of theaxle is simultaneously and inversely varied.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. ERNST G. SGHREIBER.

l/Vitnesses:

F. C. GRUMPAOKER, O. B. TINKHAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five gents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

